Libya

total:

4.27 cu km/yr (14%/3%/83%)

per capita:

730 cu m/yr (2000)

• desertification;
• limited natural freshwater resources;
• the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Libyan(s)

adjective:

Libyan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Libya

local long form:

none

local short form:

Libiya

name:

Tripoli (Tarabulus)

geographic coordinates:

32 53 N, 13 10 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 22 districts (shabiyat, singular - shabiyat);
• Al Butnan, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jabal al Gharbi, Al Jafarah, Al Jufrah, Al Kufrah, Al Marj, Al Marqab, Al Wahat, An Nuqat al Khams, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghat, Misratah, Murzuq, Nalut, Sabha, Surt, Tarabulus, Wadi al Hayat, Wadi ash Shati

• none;
• note - following the September 1969 military overthrow of the Libyan government, the Revolutionary Command Council replaced the existing constitution with the Constitutional Proclamation in December 1969;
• in March 1977, Libya adopted the Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority

• the United States on 17 July 2011 recognized the Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate governing authority for Libya;
• announcement of a new interim government expected in November 2011

elections:

TNC Chairman al-JALIL in August 2011 announced legislative elections to be held in April 2012

election results:

NA

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ali Suleiman AUJALI

chancery:

2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 944-9601

FAX:

[1] (202) 944-9060

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gene A. CRETZ

embassy:

off Jaraba Street, behind the Libyan-Swiss clinic, Ben Ashour

mailing address:

US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850

telephone:

[218] 91-220-3239

• three horizontal bands of red (top), black (double width), and green with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe;
• the National Transitional Council reintroduced this flag design of the former Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) on 27 February 2011;
• it replaced the former all-green banner promulgated by the QADHAFI regime in 1977;
• the colors represent the three major regions of the country: red stands for Fezzan , black symbolizes Cyrenaica, and green denotes Tripolitania;
• the crescent and star represent Islam, the main religion of the country

name:

"Allahu Akbar" (God Is Greatest)

lyrics/music:

Mahmoud el-SHERIF/Abdalla Shams el-DIN

note: adopted 1969; the anthem was originally a battle song for the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War

agriculture:

17%

industry:

23%

services:

59% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

• telecommunications system is state-owned and service is poor, but investment is being made to upgrade;
• state retains monopoly in fixed-line services;
• mobile-cellular telephone system became operational in 1996

domestic:

• multiple providers for a mobile telephone system that is growing rapidly;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 218;
• satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik;
• submarine cable to France and Italy;
• microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt;
• tropospheric scatter to Greece;
• participant in Medarabtel (2009)

• state controls broadcast media;
• state-owned terrestrial TV station and about a half-dozen state-owned satellite stations broadcast;
• some provinces operate local TV stations;
• a single, non-state-owned TV station launched in 2007;
• pan-Arab satellite TV stations are available;
• state-owned radio broadcasts on a number of frequencies, some of which carry regional programming;
• Voice of Africa, Libya's external radio service, can also be heard;
• a single, non-state-owned radio station broadcasting (2007)

total:

100,024 km

country comparison to the world: 42

paved:

57,214 km

unpaved:

42,810 km (2003)

total:

27

country comparison to the world: 89

by type:

cargo 5, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2

foreign-owned:

5 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Syria 2, UK 1)

registered in other countries:

5 (Hong Kong 1, Malta 4) (2010)

males age 16-49:

1,775,078

females age 16-49:

1,714,194 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,511,144

females age 16-49:

1,458,934 (2010 est.)

male:

59,547

female:

57,070 (2010 est.)

• dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco;
• various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya

current situation:

• Libya is a transit and destination country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation;
• Libya has experienced internal unrest, stranding many foreign workers in the country under harsh and unsafe conditions

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the Libyan Government failed to demonstrate significant efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses or to protect trafficking victims;
• the government's policies and practices with respect to undocumented migrant workers resulted in Libyan authorities also punishing trafficking victims for unlawful acts that were committed as a result of their being trafficked;
• following the outbreak of civil unrest in February 2011, accurate information regarding the situation in Libya has become very limited (2011)